Changes
by ShokuMasterLord
Summary: After the bathhouse, Chihiro is feeling different about herself. Takes place right as the movie ends. R&R and do not flame. Rated K but maybe T later.


PLEASE DO NOT FLAME! Please. I feel like crying every time someone flames one of my stories- that's why when you look at my profile you see no stories except this one. Sigh Well, hope you like this one, and again, please do not flame. And this is based on what gave me, so blame them, people!

"A new home and a new school- it can be a bit scary," said Mr. Ogino.

"I think I can handle it."

"So, honey, do you think we should first go to the inner city of Tokyo before getting settled in?" said Chihiro's mother.

"Well, we wasted enough time there looking for Chihiro, so I think we should get there first," replied Akio. He looked to his left to see which way he should go to get to their blue house.

"Mom, why couldn't we have got a house in the inner city? Then you wouldn't have to go to the next town to shop."

"Your father has work here, sweetie, and besides, would you want to live in an apartment?"

"No, I guess not."

They spent the rest of the mini-trip to their home in silence. There was no-one home- the movers didn't wait! They delayed at most a half hour, yet the movers were supposed to be done in two hours! What had happened?

Chihiro knew precisely what had happened- the time had warped when they were in the bathhouse, which was apparently located in an alternate universe. Akio then entered the house, looked at the digital calendar, and said, "Whoa. This isn't right. It should be June 1st, but it's July now! What happened?"

"Maybe it's related to how our car got all dusty. Anyways, let's get unpacked," said Yuuko, as she heard the doorbell ring. "Chihiro, would you get the door for us?"

"Sure." She peered through the peephole and saw three people, a man, a woman, and a boy about her age. She opened the door.

"Aaaahhh," said the woman. "You must be Chihiro Ogino. We were wondering when you would come home, since the movers came here a month ago!"

"Umm… well, see, we were in the middle of Tokyo that month to get to know what it's like. And yes, my name's Chihiro. Just a second- MOM! COME AND MEET THESE PEOPLE! You're our neighbors, aren't you?" Chihiro had no idea why she was being so confident talking to these people. Normally she would have gotten her mom and hid somewhere.

"Mm-hmm. We brought a plate of sushi for us to share as we get to know each other. Oh, and my son's name is Kasuro. I have a feeling you two will be good friends."

Somehow Chihiro even found the courage to take the boy's hand and shake it. "Nice to meet you."

"Yes, you too," said Kasuro, a bit shyly.

Yuuko appeared at the doorway. "You must be our neighbors! Come in- oh, and is that sushi for us?"

"Of course!"

"You didn't have to-"

"It's our pleasure."

As Kasuro entered the house, Chihiro exclaimed, "Help me pick out a room!"

"Umm… sure, I guess."

As Chihiro jogged up the stairs to see what her second floor looked like, she wondered why she wasn't the one embarrassed. Before she had always thought she looked ugly and was really shy around boys. "It's the bathhouse," Chihiro said to herself. "It's changed me."

"Hm?" said Kasuro.

"Oh, nothing. Now which one do you think I should pick?" She looked at the three rooms available.

"It really doesn't matter, since you're an only child, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. What about this one?" she asked, pointing at the largest one.

"Roomy. Excellent. And how much time do you think we have to get everything up there?"

"You don't have to worry about that- mom usually takes at least 3 hours when she finds a friend and starts to talk."

"Okay then. Hey, what kinds of games do you like?" said Kasuro as he picked up Chihiro's TV.

"I don't know," she said. She picked up a desk and trudged up the stairs.

They took about one hour to get everything unpacked. Then they hooked up the TV and started watching.

"What kinds of games do you like, Kasuro?"

Kasuro seemed to flinch at the mentioning of his name. "Uh… rhythm games, beatmania, DDR, yeah, and action games too, like Dead or Alive."

"Oh. I used to play DDR at my old town's arcade, but only by myself. I was too afraid to take on anyone else."

"Which Mix did you play and how good were you?"

"I was standard, and the DDR in that arcade was DDR 3rdMIX."

"Man, _3rdMIX? _You need to play something more current- like SuperNOVA or Extreme!" He exclaimed with a grin. "But you must be pretty good if you could play standard. Hang on- lemme get my PS2, games, and pads. Just a second."

Kasuro hurried down the stairs and out the house. Chihiro wondered how this was happening- Chihro Ogino, making a friend within an hour and a half? Somehow it had happened. This very subject was so weird that she kept thinking about it until Kasuro was back.

"I bet I could beat you right now!"

"You're on!"

Kasuro popped the SuperNOVA disc into the PS2 and they were off!! They played each song with such vigor that by the beginning of the third stage they were soaking with sweat- Chihiro more than Kasuro because she had, for some reason been playing Heavy difficulty. After playing Healing-D-Vision with all their might, both of them had flopped onto the ground.

"Something simple this time," groaned Chihiro.

"Like Battle Without Honor or Humanity?"

"Fine, but don't you dare take advantage of me not knowing the songs in this game!"

They had passed. Chihiro was so tired, but somehow she had managed to get an AA and that meant-

"Oh, no. Fascination MaxX," sighed Kasuro.

"Fascination MaxX?"

"Most likely the hardest song in the game. We have to play it because _you _had to get an AA and give us an extra stage!"

"It's not my fault! I was doing my best! And let's do this!"

"Fine, fine."

Kasuro emptied his life bar within the first 400 BPM segment, and so he was depending on Chihiro to get him through the song. But Chihiro couldn't concentrate: the guy dancing in the bathroom had baggy clothes, green eyes and hair, and was dancing in a background of sea-green tiles moving about. Chihiro kept thinking about _him_. Chihiro's feet slowed down and kept getting Almosts and Boos.

"Chihiro… CHIHIRO!!!"

Both of them had failed, but Chihiro wasn't looking at her score. Well, actually she would have, but all she saw was Haku… yes, she missed him alright.

"Chihiro… what are you doing?" Chihiro was sitting on the model of the solar system she made in 3rd grade. It almost broke before she realized she was sitting on Pluto.

"Oh! Sorry. The background character of Fascination MaxX reminded me of a… friend. That's all."

"Do you need any help contacting him, or her?"

"Actually, yeah, I'd like you to. Hey, do you go to Miyahata Junior High? That's where I'll be going."

"Yeah, it's gonna be my first year there. You're gonna be a first year too, right?"

"Yeah. Speaking of school, do we have any summer work?"

"Nope. First-years don't get any is what I heard."

"Oh. Good."

"So, you like beatmania IIDX?"

"Never played it before." Chihiro knew that she had made a good friend already- and he would help her find Haku. She was already planning what she should do to find him.

!#$&())(&$#!!#$&())(&$#!!#$&())(&$#!!#$

Hee hee! Just try imagining Chihiro playing DDR. Again, R&R but DO NOT FLAME. If you do I will flame all of your stories- they probably won't be that good anyways. Thank you for your time and patience. Also, yes, I know it's long but I couldn't find any good stopping points except that one.


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